Eriva (Silent World #1)

Rainer

Mama said there’s no such thing as hope. Only the next threat to navigate in the endless trial of survival that is life in this hellish landscape. If you give in to the notion of hope, you die because hope makes you blind.

My feet slide on the damp grass as I try to round the tombstone quickly. It leaves me scrambling for purchase as I slam my back against it. The screech of the beast shakes my bones, and I press my back harder against the stone, trying to make myself as small as possible.

Another roar covers the cracking of stone. It lands just beyond my feet, and I pull them in closer. Fuck.

There are two safe places in the world, places where the murderous beasts don’t go—libraries and cemeteries. Apparently, this beast didn’t get the memo because it’s chasing me through the massive graveyard.

This one has been terrorizing human colonies for ages. Maybe not this specific one, but one just like him. It’s as big as a small house, and while a house of only a few hundred square feet might feel small, that makes a massive beast with deadly claws and teeth the size of my hand.

I nearly scream when something slams through the tombstone I’m sitting against, barely an inch from impaling my shoulder. Did I mention the poisonous quills it shoots from its tail at speeds you’ll never see coming? Yeah, there are those too.

Kaida’s guttural purr-click-growl filters through the air from a distance. The beast stops moving to listen. It can probably hear my heart racing.

A low snarl makes me shiver as the beast turns its attention to Kaida.

Please be okay, I silently send into the universe.

I like to pretend that I adopted Kaida, but in reality, she adopted me.

Shortly after my parents were killed by monsters, Kaida showed up.

She’s this strange mix of dog, deer, and…

bird? I want to say reptile because I swear I’ve seen scales and her tongue is strangely long, but she has feathers, too.

Kaida is a beast all her own, but she’s not as big as a house. She’s friendly, protective, and interestingly intelligent. Even though she can’t speak, I’m confident she understands exactly what I say.

As the quilled assassin beast follows Kaida’s sounds, I catch my breath and watch for it. Only a minute passes before I begin to see its large, lumbering shape making its way almost soundlessly through the maze of graves.

Something that big shouldn’t be graceful. When you look at it, you think big and stupid. Slow. Cumbersome.

Thinking any of those things can lead to your death. These beasts are fucking smart. Quick and agile and as light as a damn house cat. Even that long, thick tail skillfully avoids touching the graves it passes.

Kaida’s quiet clicking growl continues to lead it away. If I could count the number of times Kaida has saved my life, it’s more than the years I am old.

Able to breathe again, I poise myself to take off as the quill beast moves away. Where am I going to go, though? If it came into the cemetery, is the nearby library still a safe space? Will it breach those walls?

I don’t have a choice. I need to move. I can’t stay here and wait for it to come back this way when it doesn’t find Kaida. Right now, the library is the only place I can think of that promises some semblance of safety. Whether the quill beast gets the memo or not is another story.

As silently as I can, I sprint in the direction of the library, keeping to the grass as much as possible to keep my footfalls silent. I’m moving in the opposite direction as the beast, hoping that will keep me from its peripheral vision.

It works for a short time. I’m alternating between sprinting when I think the ground can absorb the sounds of my feet slamming into it and slowing down over what appears to be a louder surface. The intermittent pace allows me to catch my breath a little as I nurse the ache growing in my side.

I hate running. I’m convinced that whoever enjoys it is a masochist.

There’s no vocal indication that the beast has realized I’m heading in the opposite direction.

No growl or roar or charging. It comes by way of a quill embedding itself in my ankle followed by a hunk of tombstone flying through the air and slamming into a tall stone pillar where it explodes.

Shrapnel rains around me, ranging in size from that of my fist to the size of my fingernail.

That stone would have hit me if the quill in my ankle hadn’t made me careen over. The pain from it is instant and intense. A sick feeling overtakes me, and I break out into a sweat as bile rises in my throat and coats my mouth.

Fuck. Of course the quills are poisonous. Why wouldn’t they be? What other advantages does this fucking beast need to survive in the world?

I hear it coming toward me, though it’s not moving quickly. The predator knows it has me. It knows that I’m dead if it lands a hit.

I shuffle behind a tall grave and look at where this damn thing is sticking out of my ankle.

It’s far bigger than a quill has any business being, but then again, this isn’t from a porcupine.

This is from a monster, so proportionately, this makes sense.

It’s the size of my damn forearm. The end that impaled my ankle comes to a sharp point, but the other side is as thick as my wrist.

Do I pull it out? Will that make the poison rush through me quicker?

Doesn’t matter. While I doubt I’m going to live more than the day with this poison inside me, I sure as fuck won’t be sitting here and letting that thing eat me. Not today.

Bracing myself with my back pressed harshly against the stone behind me, I grip the quill with both hands. My chest heaves as I prepare for fucking pain. One. Two. Three.

I yank it up, and… That was anticlimactic. I suppose when it feels like your nerve endings are on fire and your muscles are being eaten in real time, a little added pain from the removal of a projectile is nothing more than a splinter.

I give the quill a bemused look. Keeping it gripped in my hand, I lay my head back and listen to the beast that’s drawing closer. Stupid thing is confident that it has killed its prey. Stupid bitch. Would this quill work against it? Is it immune to its own poison?

Carrying anything with you can be cumbersome, so you learn quickly that if something doesn’t fit in your pocket, it’s not worth taking.

It’ll slow you down, catch on something, or prevent you from getting through a small space, and any short seconds that it impedes your progress will almost guarantee your life.

One of the few things I carry on me is a thick, durable elastic band. It wraps around my waist three times before being tied off. Because it’s so close to my skin, it rarely becomes a hindrance when I run.

Time to use it like a slingshot. If this thing is going to take me out, I’m at least going to have fun with it first. I’m going to make it work extra hard for its meal.

I tie it off into a loop then wrap it around the shorter tomb in front of me. Every slight movement of my leg has me gasping. The feeling of pins driving into my bones is intense, instantly bringing tears to my eyes. I’ve never felt pain like this. What a cruel way to kill your meal.

As I get into position, I realize that the quill beast must have the ability to digest its own poison since it consumes its meal once it dies by quill injection. That’s a little disheartening. But what if it’s injected as well? Is there even any poison left in this thing?

And really, why is it wasting its time on me? I’m not going to be enough for a big meal like breakfast for this thing, though I suppose when you’re that big, every bite counts.

I brace my foot against the base of the stone and push myself backward. From where it’s lurking, about dozens of tombstones away, the thing sees me. I swear, the new clacking sound it makes means it’s laughing at me.

Joke’s on you, fucker. I pull back as far as I can, take aim, and let the thing go.

It watches me the entire time. Studying me. Waiting to see what I’m going to do. Like I’m an animal it’s trying to figure out.

I end its entertainment when the quill embeds in its neck. The beast rises on its back legs and screams into the air.

I haul myself to my feet, grab my elastic band, and take off as fast as I can.

My adrenaline is the only thing keeping me on my feet through the pain.

Stones get hurled in my direction. More quills are shot, slamming into graves and trees.

The only reason I’m not hit is because I’m not running in a straight line.

My luck runs out when a stone slams into my back. I hit the ground hard, the impact jarring my brain and making the world spin. I roll until I’m pressed against an altar-shaped stone.

Now that I’m down, the pain in my leg permeates my adrenaline. The poison has moved into my hip now. I roll in time to vomit beside me instead of on myself. The world around me becomes murky, blurry. I hear my heart in my ears, loudly thumping in the forefront as the beast screams furiously.

It should be on me by now, but it’s… fighting? Or is it just mad at me? Angry that I threw its weapon back at it?

I’m about to pass out when a pair of hands wraps around my arm and haul me to my feet. “Up you go, human.”

The world isn’t steady though. Everything rocks violently.

“Woah. Okay, you’re worse than I thought. Come on, then.”

He takes my arm and wraps it around his shoulders. I’m half dragged and half running along with him while behind us, the quill beast continues to bellow its rage. There are stones flying and exploding against other stones.

But… not in this direction. Has Kaida rounded back this way?

Quickly, we move through the cemetery before practically tumbling down a grassy hill that opens on the end to a row of crypt doors. He throws one open and brings me inside, setting me on the ground to the left of the door.

I look up at him, and… he’s a monster. Okay, he looks human in shape, but his skin is glittering with a gold shimmer like he’s covered in golden sand.

His eyes have a golden hue to them, and his hair is gold too.

He has silver chains wrapped around his arms and torso, which make a stunning contrast to his golden glow.

He stands just inside the door. A ray of sunlight moves into the doorway, illuminating him like a glowing beacon.

I’m at an angle where I can’t see outside, so I stare at the monster instead. He’s watching what’s happening outside, but I’m not sure what he’s looking at since the quill beast was behind the crypt we’re now sitting in.

He moves, and two others come running into the crypt.

One slides, his laughter filling the air.

The other feels like a dark cloud as he saunters in.

Dark as night except for the cracks in his skin that glow white.

They pulse and flicker as if there’s fire burning under his skin, and his eyes have the same shimmer.

The golden man slams the door shut and throws the bar to lock it just as something slams into it. Dust rains down on us, and a shiver runs through me.

It’s difficult to concentrate, though, since the pain in my leg is beginning to move through my body. Does adrenaline make it move more rapidly, or is it slowing it down? I’m contributing to the speed of my death right now, aren’t I?

Sunlight moves around the room, and the beast screams outside. Another slam shakes the walls of the crypt on the side of the hill.

I close my eyes, trying to keep whatever's left in my stomach from coming up. The sounds around me begin to fade as my pulse gets louder and louder in my ears. I can feel my heartbeat in a way that can’t be normal. In every limb. Every nerve ending. Every inch of my body pulses uncomfortably.

“There we go,” a voice says, and I open my eyes.

My breath catches. The man that slid in hovers in front of me with red-tinted eyes and massive horns curling over his head. Chills break out over my body, and I shiver, though that might be from fever and not fear.

“This one is dead,” the horned monster says.

Golden guy crouches beside me, and I meet his eyes. He’s frowning at me. “Not yet. There’s time.” He grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet again, but I have no strength left.

“Are you bringing him with us?” the man with glowing cracks asks.

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Why not? I can save his life.”

“You don’t need a new pet, Keary,” glowing cracks says.

“You don’t need to come with me,” the man holding me somewhat vertical—Keary?—retorts. “I never asked you to.”

Neither monster responds. Keary shifts until he can get me on his back, then he walks deeper into the crypt. This can’t be good, but, fuck, I’m about to lose consciousness, so I’m not sure it matters why he’s saving my life.

My human body wasn’t made to resist beastly poison. The last thing I recall is a beam of light bursting into flames. I watch them dance until they fade into nothing.